All this talk about his 5 year contract doesn’t really matter, to be honest. If this team looks the same in week 1 as they do in week 17, with no real improvement and no signs of development among our young players, then Flores won’t be here in 2020.
I personally don’t see that happening, but if it did, Ross would have to show him the door, shitty roster or not. Tanking season or not.
Speaking of Ross, after yesterday’s debacle and the meltdown in the fanbase that predictably ensued, I do wonder if at some point (if things don’t start to look better) Ross will experience some sort of cognitive dissonance.
He was the one who led the charge for Grier to blow this whole thing up, but I’m not sure Ross will endure 15 more weeks of what we saw yesterday. Don’t think he has the stomach for it.
And if that were the case, it wouldn’t surprise me if he decided to do something drastic by the end of the season, like firing the entire coaching staff.
But then you have to wonder, who picked this coaching staff in the first place? And the answer to that is Chris Grier. Which would make things pretty interesting.
If you ask me, I think Grier has done an excellent job executing Ross’ plan. He got rid of the bad contracts, he got compensation for players no one expected we would (i.e. Tannehill), he’s been stockpiling high draft picks left and right. He built the worst NFL roster in what may be the history of this league, virtually guaranteeing that the Dolphins will get that #1 pick.
Ross couldn’t possibly blame him for any of what’s happening, except for one thing: If Flores turns out to be a dud, if the team doesn’t really make any progress throughout the season and they continue to look unprepared and lost, if the players (even the young ones) stop believing in Flores’ leadership and completely give up, then you have to make a change. But if that’s the case, then how can Ross trust Grier to make the right choices for this organization in the future, if he can’t pick the right coach for this rebuild?
I’m fascinated by this whole thing, to be honest. Because I think it’s definitely not as black and white as many people are making it out to be. Tanking is not a bulletproof plan, but it’s also not a bad approach after years of being stuck in mediocrity.
But the thing is, even if you say that no coaching staff could be properly evaluated with this mess of a roster, I disagree.
Like I said, if this team doesn’t show any semblance of improvement throughout the season, and the blowouts continue to happen not just on the road, but at home too, then there’s no guarantee that Ross won’t fire Flores and co. Absolutely none. Even if this was his initial plan all along.
But then the question is: Do you also fire the guy who picked Flores to lead this team?
It’ll be interesting to watch unfold. I just hope that Flores proves to be the guy we've been sold as the leader that this team was needing. But if he isn't, then that five year contract will not matter, at all.
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